The present invention relates to rescue equipment for submarine crafts, wherein chemical reaction and/or catalytic decomposition of a liquid produces gas which establishes additional static lift (buoyancy) for the craft.
Emergency equipment for submarine vehicles includes, for example, pressurized gas, stored in appropriate bottles and released for expelling the water in the ballast tanks. Of course, if the craft is rather deeply submerged large quantities of gas are needed at a rather rapid rate. However, the valves may ice when the gas is released at too rapid a rate, with catastrophic results. Most importantly, however, one cannot carry just any amount of gas in the craft, because the weight will be too large.
It has been suggested to develop the gas when needed by chemical reaction or by catalytic decompositioning. The equipment and fuel needed here is lighter. Moreover, such reactions are usually exothermic, so that valves will not ice. The disadvantage of the known systems along this line require rather complicated control with regard to amount of gas needed under different circumstances. Particularly, such control requires to provide for more gas the deeper the craft is submerged.